A Rainy Day - Various Artists. Folk guitars and tambourines from Dream Syndicate, Bangles and other members of the Paisley Underground. Susannah Hoffs' version of Velvet Underground's "I'll be Your Mirror" is breath-taking.
Album - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - The Ramones with a girl singer. I liked her energy and the fact that she tossed in a bunch of cover tunes per album. "Fake Friends" was on MTV. Totally un-Hollywood.
Colour By Numbers - Culture Club. - Hated "Karma Chameleon" but this, their 2nd lp, has two great tunes "Miss Me Blind" and "Church of the Poisoned Mind." They invigorated the Mid-80s Brit-Soul movement. Several really good bands would spring forth later...Yes Girl George shares a birthday with me, Donald Trump and Steffi Graff.
High Land, Hard Rain - Aztec Camera. Elvis Costello called him "serious competition." This is cool British Pub Rock with a subtle refinement...jazz chords, flamenco guitars and soul rhythms. Roddy Frame was all of 19..."Oblivious" was a 10 and the rest of the album is filled with 7's and 8's. He was incomprehensible a few years later at the 9:30 club gig.
Hollywood Holiday - True West. I saw their Halloween show at Goin' Bananas. Decent psychedelic band, though more straight driving rock than their contemporaries.
In a Chamber - Wire Train. Echoey skeletal pop almost like a cross between REM and Echo & the Bunneymen.
Infidels - Bob Dylan. Sly & Robbie, the famous reggae duo, provide steady pulses for what I think is one of Dylan's top 2 records. Doesn't hurt to have Mark Knopfler and Mick Taylor dueling guitars. "Jokerman" and "Sweetheart Like You" show Bob at his literary finest. "Steal a little and they throw you in jail/steal a lot and they make you king."
Labour of Love - UB40. Who didn't hear every track off this album continously the next five years? Nice cover tunes of past reggae masters.
Learning To Crawl - Pretenders. Two of the founder members had died of overdoses the previous year. Telecasters rule this album. Love the snappy guitar in "Back on the Chain Gang" and "My City Was Gone." "2000 Miles" is as good a Christmas Carol as any.
Madonna - Madonna. I loved "Borderline" at the time. She changed the sound of pop instantly. Sat next to many girls on couches at VCU parties listening to this one.
Murmur - REM. Murkiness abounds. My metalhead sister scoffed at their "lack of energy" and their "best rock band" labeling. Sure, but there are some really interesting melodies, chord sequences and layering of sounds. Undecipherable lyrics. "Shaking Through" a real melodic triumph.
No Parking on the Dance Floor - Midnight Star. Mega-time spent at the Bus Stop and these folks' tunes burned into my cerebral cortex. Pre-hip-hop funk that fit well upside the B-52s.
Soul Mining - The The. Britain's Prince. Good material with heavy beats and introspective angst.
Speaking In Tongues - Talking Heads. Jonathan Demme produced the live movie. A roommate burned this one to bits...I did love the fact that there are songs with acoustic guitar, percussion and voice only.
Synchronicity - Police. Saw them live. They were artists. This does border pretentious, but the grooves of such songs as "Synchronicity II" and "Tea in the Sahara" (coolly subtle) propel the music.
X-Raves - X-Raves. From Virginia Beach area. One of the top 3 or 4 bands I've seen live. Multiple visits at Hard Times; they broke up in 1984. Really excellent originals covering synth-pop, combat rock, Flock of U2-type rock.
The Crossing - Big Country. Guitars like bagpipes and urgent vocals. Strong songs/metallic Scot-folk punkpop?
The Hurting - Tears for Fears. Like New Order, put sensitivity, fear and reflection in synthpop.
Valley Girl - Movie Soundtrack. Plimsouls, Josie Cotton and others provide great New Wave rock songs. Nicolas Cage does rule, if you want to check out this teenybop film.
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes. Live, they were funnier and less whiney than on the record. Modestly liked subsequent releases. This one is all adrenaline and self-torture. Crazy bass player and drummer plays a trash can.
War - U2. Passionate caring music with vocals in the clouds. No one was playing guitar like that before. "Surrender" and "Two Hearts" were great singalongs in the midst of other bouncing 19 year olds.
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